Alien Minds: Dimension Drift, Book 1

by Christina Bauer

  “Sure,” I reply.

  Luci steps inside. She’s wearing a long pink robe that’s tied at the waist. I check the clock. Nine p.m. I’ve been so focused, I haven’t noticed how late it’s gotten.

  “What do you think of the room? I decorated it for you and everything.”

  “It’s … very bright.”

  “And did you see the pink gown in your closet? We’ll match tomorrow. Just like sisters.” Her mouth tightens to a thin line. “Or not.” She throws up her hands. “Honestly, I don’t know why I got that dress. It’s just something I did.”

  Way to make a special moment there, sis.

  “What’s happening tomorrow night?” I ask.

  “We arrive. We take our seats and watch the show. Pretty basic really.”

  “It would help to have more details.”

  “Godwin says to tell you zero. He’s sending you to ECHO Academy afterward. Isn’t that great? You’ll be my sponsor student.”

  “Great isn’t the word I’d use.”

  “You’re impossible,” huffs Luci. “Why can’t you just do what you’re told?”

  “I’m here, aren’t I?’

  “But you’re scheming. I can tell. And after everything I’ve shared with you! I told you that if you cooperated, it could save our mother’s life. And yet you’re still undermining things.”

  “Mom’s safe,” I say slowly. “I found out.”

  “Oh.” Luci’s face pales.

  “Anything else for me?” I ask.

  “There are other people at risk,” continues Luci. “What about Miss Edith? She’s on the undesirables list, too.” Luci pulls the red data chip from her pocket. “Once everything goes smoothly tomorrow, I’ll give you this. Then you can still save anyone you want. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, pieces align. How Luci wants my success, but only to feed her own. They way she decorates rooms like I’m nine but tries to destroy what’s most important to me.

  “Luci,” I begin, “why do you hate me?”

  “I don’t hate you,” she answers in a syrupy-sweet voice.

  “I’m serious. You want me to cooperate. So tell me the truth.”

  Emotions flare across Luci’s pretty face. Mock sadness. Despair (also fake). And finally, pure rage. That’s the real Luci.

  “Come on, give it to me,” I order.

  “I can’t stand you because you’re not my sister.”

  A chill of shock prickles over my skin. “What do you mean?”

  “Mom and Dad adopted you. It ruined our lives.”

  I set my fist against my chest. “That’s not right. I’d feel it if it were true.”

  Luci looks down at me, her features the definition of disgust. “I was old enough to know that Mom was never pregnant. All the same, she swore me to secrecy. I hated her for it. You’re not my flesh and blood. You mean nothing to me, you never have. She found you through some orphanage near ECHO Academy and after you arrived, you were all she cared about.”

  It’s as if the floor has been pulled out from beneath me. All of a sudden, I have the sensation of tumbling through empty space. “You never mentioned Dad.”

  “Dad changed after you were born. He wouldn’t talk or move.” Her eyes glisten with tears. “Mom’s obsession with you is what destroyed his mind. Because of you, my father died of a broken heart.”

  When I next speak, my voice breaks with pain. “But I was a baby. I didn’t make Mom do anything.”

  “Don’t pretend. I hate you and you hate me right back.” Her voice lowers with menace as she says these last five words. This is critical to her.

  My hatred matters to her.

  And that fact, more than anything else, makes all my feelings of anger melt away. Inside my soul, I touch the little girl who idolized her older sister. That part of me still exists, even if I can’t remember it.

  “No, I never hated you. You’ll always be my sister. And I still love you.”

  “Only because you don’t remember me.”

  “I’ve seen enough from you over the last few months to last me a lifetime. Even now, I know you. Love you. Forgive you. And most of all, I’m sorry for you.”

  As soon as I say the words, I know they’re true. I have my friends at the Underground. I have my connection with Thorne. Luci is alone with herself, her resentments, and Josiah. For now, there’s nothing more to be done.

  Luci stares at me for a long moment, her jaw grinding out silent rebuttals. A look of regret flashes in her ice-blue eyes, but it’s gone too quickly to be sure. In the end, Luci only tightens her robe around her waist and leaves.

  Once she’s gone, I lean against the back of my pretty princess bed. No wonder Luci decorated the room like I was nine. She’s still stuck on me as a little kid.

  It’s so strange.

  Why fix up a room with such care for someone you supposedly hate?

  35 Thorne

  “When it comes to completing missions on parallel worlds, unexpected circumstances may block you from your goal. Never despair. Always improvise.” – Beauregard the Great, Instructions for Visiting Parallel Worlds

  I’ve had plenty of missions go sideways. There’s always some way to fix things. That’s why Chloe, Zoe, the Hollow, and I have been sitting around our conversation pit for hours. I double- and triple-checked Rakkie to make sure he was hiding our every word from Godwin. Or Vargas. Or anyone, really.

  For an old-fashioned bot, that little guy can do some pretty cutting-edge stuff. No one will ever know what we’ve been discussing down here.

  Which is for the best.

  After all our chatter, here are the facts as we see them.

  Fact. I can’t risk leaving the Underground to find Meimi until after Vargas takes the Hollow. And we don’t know when that will happen.

  Fact. We’re all very worried about the Hollow. Six hours ago, we had a rock-solid plan to save her life. Now? Not so much.

  Fact. Meimi has the silver sentient. She’s the one who’s practiced to get that critical part of the plan done. And yes, her palm print is the only way to open the bot itself.

  Fact. Fritz already set up Zoe’s big poof. It will still go off right before the Crawler takes the stage.

  Fact. There’s still one minute and change for Meimi to get backstage, get the agony switch from the guards, swap out the Lacerator for the new sentient, save the undesirables, and in general ruin Godwin’s night.

  Fact. We must get Meimi backstage when Zoe’s camouflage cloud hits.

  And that’s where we’re stuck.

  I drum my fingers on my kneecap. “We know Meimi will be at a table somewhere with Luci and Josiah. The question is how to get her backstage.”

  “And with a security pass,” adds Chloe. She’s always the one to think of the mechanics of getting around.

  “Plus, we can’t alert Luci and Josiah that Meimi’s run off,” adds Zoe. “It’s like we need to replace Meimi with another Meimi.”

  The rough outline of an idea takes shape in my mind. I sit up straighter. “Say that again?”

  Zoe frowns. “We need to replace Meimi with another Meimi?”

  “That’s the one.” My idea takes a more definite shape. I round on the Hollow. “You’ve been working in the Simulacrum.”

  The Hollow tilts her head. “Yes. To figure out how to interact with the new sentient swarm.”

  “Remember when Scythe came here disguised as Fritz?” I ask.

  “I heard about it,” says the Hollow.

  I look to Chloe. “You looked into it, right?” It was a mechanical thing and Chloe simply had to figure out how it worked.

  “Sure,” says Chloe. “Turns out, the Scythe used cufflinks. One was a projector. The other was a scanner.” She frowns. “But that tech isn’t very stable. Best case scenario, it only lasts for a few minutes.”

  “Maybe a few minutes is all we need,” I counter. “We’re not talking about an all-new scheme, just getting us back to M
eimi’s plan.” I focus on the Hollow. Hope rises in my chest. This has to work. “Can you build something like what the Scythe had?”

  “It won’t be an implant,” says the Hollow.

  “Fine.”

  “And it won’t work for long,” adds Chloe.

  I nod. “Understood.”

  The Hollow’s metallic eyes light up. She’s really thinking about this now. “It will only do your appearance, not your voice.”

  “But you can build it?” I ask.

  “Yes, with some help.” The Hollow looks to Chloe. “What do you say?”

  Chloe shoots a double thumbs-up. “I’m all in.”

  My mind whirs through scenarios. “Here’s what we do. The Hollow and Chloe, you two work on creating as many sets of personal hologram projectors as you can.” I turn to Zoe. “And you may be able to use your hallucinogen after all.”

  Zoe’s face brightens. “Really?”

  “Did you develop some way to protect the rest of us from the drug?”

  Zoe sniffs. “I always develop an immuno-tab against anything I create.”

  “In that case,” I announce. “I think we’re back in business.”

  In my mind, my sentient send me images of many hands with fingers crossed. They’re hoping this works.

  I couldn’t agree more.

  36 Meimi

  After Luci leaves, it takes me forever to fall asleep. Sadly, this puffy bed is way too soft and airy. I miss my nasty cot in the Underground. I want my scratchy sheets back. Most of all, I crave the sound of Thorne’s soft breathing as he sleeps on the floor nearby, keeping me safe.

  When I do konk out, my dreams take me back to the Ozymandias Chemical Factory. I step into my ruined kitchen. Like always, there’s a figure by the window. It’s the blue version of me.

  “Ask me the question,” says Blue Me.

  “Luci says I’m not her sister. Did you know anything about that?”

  Blue Me shakes her head. “From what I remember, we always looked different from Mom and Luci. But Mom said we looked like Dad. There were never any pictures around of him, though.”

  “That’s fishy.”

  “When it came to Mom, there was always a lot of strangeness. No pictures wasn’t that big of a deal.” Her eyes fill with sympathy. “I wish I could give you the memories I do have. Mom taught us everything we know about drift science. She was ferocious about that.”

  I nod, trying to soak this in. “It’s odd to think of me as learning science. It’s just always been a part of me. At least, since I woke up. Those skills have also been what everyone—okay, mostly Godwin—wants to control.” I hug my elbows. “When Luci told me she wasn’t my blood sister, I knew it didn’t make a difference, and it doesn’t.”

  “And yet?” prompts Blue Me.

  “It doesn’t change how I feel about Luci. But it does raise so many questions. If this is true, why wouldn’t Mom tell me?”

  “I have one suspicion,” says Blue Me.

  “What?”

  “Before Godwin wiped our memory, we came face-to-face with the Lacerator.”

  “Yes, Thorne mentioned that.”

  “The creature had been breaking free from the Underground. Every time, it would go to RCM1 in Western Mass. RCM1 is also where we’d get parts when creating stuff for the Scythe and Fritz.”

  I tap my chin and think this through. “The Lacerator went all the way from the Boston Dome to Western Mass?”

  “That’s right,” says Blue Me. “And it visited the very same buildings where we’d always gone. There are thousands of warehouses in RCM1.”

  I shake my head. “What does this have to do with Luci?”

  “She went to those same warehouses as well,” explains Blue Me.

  “Maybe Godwin made her do it.” I frown. “We don’t know what Luci’s gone through, really.”

  “But we do know what she’s done. Luci turned us in to Godwin. By visiting RCM1, Luci was walking distance from visiting Mom. She never stopped by. I only say this because I’m you, after all. I can guess what you’re thinking.”

  I straighten my spine. “And what’s that?”

  “You still hope Luci might help us tomorrow at the Liberation Celebration,” states Blue Me. “After all, Luci fixed up a new bedroom, bought matching dresses, and maybe seemed a little guilty. So you wonder: will she let us behind stage when the time comes?”

  “I’ve thought things through from every angle. That has to be my best new plan.” Worry constrict my throat. “Don’t you think it has a chance?”

  Blue Me meets my gaze straight on. When she speaks, all the seriousness in the world shines in her eyes.

  “No,” says Blue Me flatly. “I don’t.”

  And with that, the blue version of myself disappears. With her, my dream ends as well, and in more ways than one.

  37 Meimi

  Liberation Celebration

  Josiah, Luci, and I sit in the back of the hoverlimo as it pulls up to the Golden Pantheon. Luci and I wear matching pink dresses. They’re pretty as far as gowns go: sweetheart neckline, princess waist, full skirt, and most importantly, pockets. It’s just strange to wear the same outfit as someone who says they hate you.

  It’s like the hoverlimo itself. Luci and Josiah like being driven around, but they don’t want to acknowledge I’m the reason they’re in a hoverlimo to begin with. I think the dresses are the same way. If anyone knows who I really am and what I really did for Godwin, Luci wants it to be super easy for them to connect the dots that we’re related.

  Only we aren’t. Maybe.

  And she hates me. Probably.

  Gah. This is hard.

  After we leave the limo, we enter the lobby of the Golden Pantheon, a round and sleek space with a domed ceiling. Everything glitters with a golden hue. A single thought strikes me.

  What a lot of people.

  The space is crammed with attendees of all ages, which is odd considering how this is a public execution. Who thinks of cleansing and family time in the same event?

  Lots of folks, evidently.

  Everyone also dresses in formal wear and is doused in cologne. Many hold flutes of champagne or glasses of wine. There are also lots of mother-daughter pairs in matching outfits. Luci must be following a fashion trend.

  There is one bonus to this dress, though. The full skirt and pockets easily hide my new sentient swarm replacement for the Lacerator. Assuming I get close enough to make the swap, that is.

  We slowly make our way into the main domed space: the Golden Pantheon proper. I’ve seen it in pictures, but stepping inside is far more overwhelming. The gilded ceiling sparkles above us. A patchwork of round tables lines the massive floor. The stage looms at the far end of the oval space. On it, there stands a wall of monitors. Right now, they show a single image.

  A great red curtain about to be drawn up.

  My pulse speeds. This is really happening. I’m here. It’s the Liberation Celebration. I have to save the Hollow, Miss Edith, everyone. And my plan has gotten derailed in a huge way.

  On reflex, I scan for the backstage entrance. Bingo! It’s to the right of the main stage. There’s a Merciless guard there who’s checking passes. I’ll definitely need one of those cards.

  As we step toward our seats, I look for anyone with a backstage pass hanging from a chain around their neck. Then I try to stumble onto them and take their access tag. It does about as well as you’d expect. I’m a scientist, not a pickpocket.

  Josiah has a backstage card, but the very idea of stumbling into him makes me sick to my stomach. There has to be another option.

  Soon Josiah pauses by a table that’s on the far right, about halfway toward the stage. “Here we are!” he announces. “Our seats.” He pulls out Luci’s chair, but she makes no move to park her bum.

  “I thought we’d be in the first row,” huffs Luci.

  “These are the best seats in the house.” Josiah looks in my direction. Not sure how the guy manages to turn any gl
ance into a nasty leer, but he does. “Don’t you think so, sweet Meimi?”

  At this moment, the camera drones take to the air. An announcer’s voice echoes through the Pantheon. “Welcome to this year’s Liberation Celebration!”

  I’ve never been happier for a distraction. “We better take our seats,” I say.

  Across the chamber, the camera drones fly in closer to the stage. The images on the monitor wall changes. Where there was once a single sheet of red velvet, now that curtain rises to show a massive scoreboard. I know it well. It’s the same thing that still flashes on my wrist cuff.

  * * *

  Humboldt-Merciless Undesirables Tagged: 2,507,699

  Godwin-Horde Undesirables Tagged: 565,431

  Grand Total: 3,073,130

  * * *

  Serving staff deliver meals to the tables up front. Unbelievable. People actually eat and drink before a monitor that lists how many other human beings are about to be killed.

  Panic twists through my insides. I vowed to help these people.

  I simply can’t fail them.

  38 Thorne

  “The key to defeating any enemy is knowing their main weakness. Often, that is a member of the opposite sex.” – Wu Zhao Zetain, The Art of Sentient War

  This is so like Vargas.

  The Liberation Celebration has just begun and yet, he still hasn’t shown up to collect the Hollow.

  Talk about playing mind games.

  For her part, the Hollow waits in our conversation pit area, seemingly calm as can be. If you look closely, you can see how her pulse jumps in her throat. Not that I blame her.

  I twist my thumb rings in a nervous rhythm. Each of us has a set now. Chloe couldn’t make cuff links like the Scythe wore, but these should do the trick. The left band is to copy your target; the right ring will allow you to project a hologram of that person around yourself. The Hollow and Chloe figure these will work for a few minutes, tops.